Boys and Reading

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the phenomenon that boys are often stuck in a rigid classification as underachievers due to the fact that girls' reading skills far outpace the reading skills of boys. The paper reviews some of the solutions that teachers have found to help to deal with this problem. It also reviews some successful projects to help with boys' reading and writing competencies.

From the Paper:

"Thomas Newkirk writes in California English (Newkirk, 2004) that he was shocked by a statistic in a recent report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress; that statistic showed that by the 12th grade, the average score on boys' writing achievement tests were 24 points below girls' scores. What can be done about this, Newkirk wonders in this article, published in 2004. Boys see libraries as a place for girls to go; boys go home and their dads are reading the sports page in newspapers while mom may be reading a novel. And boys are not encouraged to read action and adventure books (even though it is usually their preference), but they are urged to read novels with deep plots and sophisticated character development. Boys spend more time on video games and in computers than girls, and much of what they experience in those genres is action-oriented, and yet in school, they are asked to change, and be quiet, and be serious, like the girls."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Folks, Victoria. (2004). Middle School Masculinity: The Rejection of Reading. California English, 9(3), 24-25.
• Moss, Gemma. (2000). Raising Boys' Attainment in Reading: some principles for intervention. Reading, 34(3), 101-106.
• Newkirk, Thomas. (2004). The Quiet Crisis in Boys' Literacy. California English, 9(3), 13-16.
• Taylor, Donna Lester. (2004). "Not just boring stories": Reconsidering the gender gap for boys. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(4), 290-298.

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• Admission Essay # 132913 : "Boys and Reading"
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• Analytical Essay # 136572 : "Boys and Reading"

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